It is one of the most memorable lines in movie history. As the air around him is rent by explosions and the whiz of bullets, Colonel Kilgore stands nonchalantly with hands on hips, sniffs the acrid breeze and declares: ‘I love the smell of napalm in the morning.’

Now actor Robert Duvall’s famous scene from the Vietnam epic Apocalypse Now could be re-enacted in millions of teenagers’ bedrooms – thanks to technology that will allow computer games consoles to release the stench of war.

The Ministry of Defence is part-funding a project in which foul smells are released into the air during training videos so that recruits literally learn to sniff out trouble.
Scent of danger: Realistic smells could soon be added to games like this
If the technology proves a success, it is expected to be taken up by manufacturers of top-selling consoles – such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The team of psychologists and computer engineers developing the technology, on behalf of the British Army, plan to bombard troops with odours ranging from body sweat to diesel exhaust.

The aim is to teach recruits that the presence of some smells and absence of others could indicate danger.

At the moment, the technology is still in its infancy. But the scientists say it will soon be possible to design games in which the screech of tyres during a high-speed chase will automatically trigger the release of the smell of burning rubber.

‘Let’s say a unit is passing through a village somewhere in the Arab world where there is always the smell of cooking meat,’ explained Professor Stone.
Smelly: Jars holding the aromas
‘On the day in question that smell is not there. That could mean the village has been evacuated because the enemy are using it as a base from which to attack British troops. Smell is the most underrated and underused of our senses.

‘If we rely only on sights and sounds, we are in danger of closing our minds to what is going on around us. And for a soldier, that can mean the difference between life and death.’

His ‘scent delivery system’ consists of a compressed air chamber with four fans and eight compartments, each of which holds a pot of wax, chemically impregnated with a particular odour.

Those in Professor Stone’s armoury so far include cordite, burning electrical wire, weapon fire and harbour and hospital smells, though other unpleasant stinks, such as mildew and cat urine, will be added to the list.

During a demonstration in Professor Stone’s office, PhD research student Mark Blyth presses the ‘raw sewage’ smell button as 3-D images flash across the screen of a Toshiba laptop. Visitors look longingly at a gas mask hanging on a coat stand, wondering whether it will fit. A colleague from another department pops his head round the door, sniffs disgustedly and leaves with a muttered excuse.

Computer games are playing an ever-larger role in military training, partly because the devices used to operate battlefield technology systems increasingly resemble games console controls.

Professor Stone believes the smells will prove attractive to the commercial sector.

‘An American company called Trisenx is already working on something similar and I am sure there will be a successful crossover from military use to the home computer industry.

‘Within three to five years there could be games on the market with smells designed to confuse or excite the player.

‘When an alien appears on the screen, for example, he would have his own odour which would be instantly recognisable.’

Imagine playing a medieval game and going into a dungeon and suddenly having a musty smell of soil fill the room... leave the dungeon and get a scent of ozone (like an air purifier) or grass. Walk past a farm and get the scent of hay (or if you're really hardcore, manure ). Have a fire ball whiz by your head and get a scent of sulfur.

Imagine playing a medieval game and going into a dungeon and suddenly having a musty smell of soil fill the room... leave the dungeon and get a scent of ozone (like an air purifier) or grass. Walk past a farm and get the scent of hay (or if you're really hardcore, manure ). Have a fire ball whiz by your head and get a scent of sulfur.

This could be very very cool if done properly.

Not if you want to smell dead people in Resident Evil 5 or Dead Space.

This sounds like an idea that is somewhat cool, although I can't imagine this ever taking off. In that sense, it reminds me of those accent/mood lights that Philips made, where they would change color depending on the game. So for Far Cry 1, they would turn bright blue... a really cool effect, but wasn't exactly a big seller...

It is an interesting idea, but would require people to purchase additional hardware and continually fill it with chemicals to keep it operational... at least I'd think it would? I suppose they may figure out how to make it use cartridges or other sorts of easily disposed of things, like a printer, otherwise it may need cleaning et al too.

I guess a bigger concern, though, would be if a smell could induce illness in people. Probably why it's not commonly done in movies. Although you sort of get that type of thing at places like Universal Studios or whatnot where you may enter a 'location' and they'll make it smell gritty, or like a jungle, or a cave, or something, but I have to admit I'm not really that keen to smelling the sewers I'm crawling around in, or the rotting corpses all around me

This would be great... I would just turn it off 99% of the time, but if I was having company I would put in some game that has some nice smelling environments... would cut cost on air fresheners and whatnot.